Anyone remember when He-Man and Lion-O teamed up in the Masters of the Universe and Thundercats crossover for the ultimate 1980s showdown? The Masters of the Universe toys, an outgrowth of the Big Jim action figures, camper, and other toys of the 1970s, beat out Nerf and Bingo to make it into the National Toy Hall of Fame back in 2022 after being a finalist in 2018 and 2021. The franchise has remained in popularity for decades now for kids of the 1980s (and their kids) so much so that an updated set of the action figures were honored among the best “toys of the year” in 2022 at the annual toy awards. Masters of the Universe was a toy line first–Mattel then created comic books and magazines (more than dozen) and an animated series (eventually six animated series in all), all arguably commercials with morals to convince parents they weren’t simply toy ads. But you can learn their entire history in the Toys That Made Us documentary series on Netflix.
Now 45 years after they debuted, the franchise is returning with its second big live-action movie, also titled Masters of the Universe. If you missed Dolph Lundgren as He-Man, Frank Langella as Skeletor, Meg Foster as Evil-Lyn, plus Robert Duncan McNeill and Courteney Cox in two of their earliest roles, you’ll want to catch the original on Prime Video, Pluto, or Tubi.
The new movie takes a different approach, with a similarly famous cast but a relatively unknown actor as He-Man, Nicholas Galitzine (who starred in the remake of The Watcher in the Woods). Other cast members include marquee stars Sir Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms and Jared Leto as Skeletor, plus Firefly’s Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, Community’s Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, James Purefoy (A Knight’s Tale) as King Randor, along with Camila Mendes (Riverdale), and Charlotte Riley (Edge of Tomorrow).
No, the first look doesn’t seem like The Lord of the Rings, but it has some visuals that might conjure Thor: Ragnarok. Check out the first trailer for Masters of the Universe:
Notice the nice Big Jim tribute in the trailer?
Big Jim was the toy line Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Darryl McDaniels and I had as kids that we discussed at a comic convention a few years ago. The camper pictured in its box on the shelf in the photograph above, is a toy classic.
Masters of the Universe comes to theaters June 5, 2026. Look for it streaming later on Prime Video.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
